Skip to main content

Who Get Involved in ISIS Supply Chain for Bombs

A study on Thursday found out that companies from 20 countries are involved in the supply chain of components that end up in Islamic State explosives, suggesting governments and firms need to do more to track the flow of cables, chemicals and other equipment.

An explosion rocks the Syrian city of Kobani during a reported suicide car bomb attack by ISIS militants on a People's Protection Unit (YPG) position in the city center, October 20, 2014.

The European Union-mandated study showed that 51 companies from countries including Turkey, Brazil, and the United States produced, sold or received the more than 700 components used by Islamic State to build improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

IEDs are now being produced on a "quasi-industrial scale" by the militant group, which uses both industrial components that are regulated and widely available equipment such as fertilizer chemicals and mobile phones, according to Conflict Armament Research (CAR), which undertook the 20-month study.

Islamic State controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria. NATO member Turkey shares borders with both countries and has stepped up security to prevent the flow of weapons and insurgents to the hardline Sunni group.

A total of 13 Turkish firms were found to be involved in the supply chain, the most in any one country. That was followed by India with seven.

"These findings support growing international awareness that IS forces in Iraq and Syria are very much self-sustaining — acquiring weapons and strategic goods, such as IED components, locally and with ease," said James Bevan, CAR's executive director.

The sale of these cheap and readily available parts, some of which are not subject to government export licenses, is far less scrutinized and regulated than the transfer of weapons.

The study found that Islamic State is able to acquire some components in as a little as a month after their lawful supply to firms in the region, suggestion a lack of oversight in the supply chain.

"Companies having effective accounting systems to establish where the goods went after them would act as a deterrent," Bevan said.

'REFUSED TO COOPERATE'

Bevan said the Turkish government refused to cooperate with CAR's investigation so the group was not able to determine the efficacy of Ankara's regulations regarding the tracking of components.

Turkish government officials did not reply to requests for comment.

CAR gained access to the components through partners including the Washington-backed Kurdish YPG in Syria, the Iraqi Federal Police, the Kurdistan Region Security Council and forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

The components were recovered during major battles around the Iraqi towns of al Rabia, Kirkuk, Mosul, and Tikrit and the Syrian town of Kobani.

The report's authors said they attempted to contact the companies linked to the components, adding the firms did not respond or were not able to account for where the goods went after they left their custody.

Seven Indian companies manufactured most of the detonators, detonating cord, and safety fuses documented by CAR. Those were all legally exported under government-issued licenses from India to entities in Lebanon and Turkey, CAR found.

Companies from Brazil, Romania, Russia, the Netherlands, China, Switzerland, Austria and Czech Republic were also involved, the report found.

Source : Newsweek

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nigerian army Claims the Second Rescue of Chibok Girl

A second schoolgirl that was seized in the Nigerian town of Chibok has been found, the army says. But a spokesman for the Chibok girls' parents has cast doubt on the claims, saying that the girl's name is not on the families' list of those missing. An army spokesman said Serah Luka was among a group of 97 women and children rescued by troops in the north-east. Islamist militant group Boko Haram has abducted thousands of other girls in recent years, rights groups estimate. This comes two days after the rescue of the first Chibok girl, Amina Ali Nkeki. The army has previously given misleading statements about the rescue of the Chibok girls - in its initial statement after Ms Nkeki was found, it used a wrong name. In all, 218 girls remain missing after their abduction by the Boko Haram Islamist group from Chibok secondary school in north-eastern Nigeria in 2014. Ms Nkeki told a Chibok community leader that six of the kidnapped girls had died, but...

Obama administration Issues Transgender Access to School Bathrooms

The issue of directing public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity is being discussed by the Obama administration on Friday. A joint letter from the Departments of Education and Justice will go out to schools on Friday with guidelines to ensure that "transgender students enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment," the Obama administration said on Thursday. The announcement comes amid heated debate over transgender rights in schools and public life, which includes a legal standoff between the administration and North Carolina over its controversial House Bill 2. The guidance goes beyond the bathroom issue, touching upon privacy rights, education records and sex-segregated athletics, all but guaranteeing transgender students the right to identify in school as they choose. "There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on ...

Will Ferrell and His Bird Collectian As "The Birds are for God"

An acclaimed actor and comedic genius like Will Ferrell is incredibly pleased to spend some valued time with his incredibly expensive bird collection, according to his good friend Adam McKay. McKay, who has directed Ferrell in films like "Anchorman" and "Step Brothers," told HuffPost Live on Monday that Ferrell's home is brimming with birds of all kinds, and Ferrell himself is a bit of a bird whisperer. "He has giant cages on his property filled with different tropical birds, and these are the kind of birds that will bite you, that you have to be careful with, but when it's him, they just fly right to his arm," McKay said. "Often times if you're at his house ... he has, like, a cockatiel on his shoulder for long stretches." An affinity for birds isn't exactly surprising, but what will shock you is the enormous monetary value of Ferrell's flock. "He had to have his bird collection insured, and I think it's wor...